Make your own Halal Marshmallows

For this chilly weather, whip up a batch of halal marshmallows – perfect for a warm mug of hot chocolate.

Born and raised in a little town outside of Toronto, I was always envious of my classmates’ marshmallow snacks. Whether it was s’mores, Rice Krispie squares, or even just marshmallows straight out of the package, I was always left out. Fast forward a few years into my childhood (okay, maybe more than a few years) and halal marshmallows made an appearance in our halal grocery shops. They weren’t the greatest halal marshmallows out there and most times they were a tad bit stale, but hey – they worked!

It wasn’t until last year that I had the opportunity to taste gourmet marshmallows – yes people, gourmet halal marshmallows! Blossom & Bean, our go-to halal confectionary, carried homemade gourmet halal marshmallows in a variety of awesome flavours, including my personal favourites mango and peppermint. Winter went by just a little more warmer with some peppermint ‘mallows tossed in my hot chocolate!

Anyway, enough about my love for marshmallows, here’s how you can make your own halal vanilla marshmallows to throw in your own hot chocolate this winter.

Here’s what you need for to make your own halal marshmallows:

1 cup of cold water

90 grams of unflavoured halal gelatin

2 cups of sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

A dash of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla (or any other flavour you wish to use)

1 cup icing sugar

Here’s what you do:

Line a rectangular-shaped pan with aluminum foil and then spray it with non-stick cooking spray.

Whip out your KitchenAid: Pour ½ of the water into the large metal bowl, and then sprinkle the halal gelatin over it.

Let it cool for about 10-20 minutes until the gelatin absorbs the water.

Mix the sugar, salt, ½ cup of water and corn syrup in a saucepan, and stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Once the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat and bring it to a boil (about 115 degrees celsius)

Now comes the hard part: pour the hot mixture into the gelatin mixture slowly, while the mixture runs at the lowest speed possible.

Slowly increase the speed of the mixture to high until the mixture starts to form peaks and becomes thick (about 20 or so minutes).

Add the vanilla or your choice of flavour, and mix it a little bit more.

Pour the mixture into the pan and let it sit for several hours until completely firm.

Once it’s firm, sprinkle lots of icing sugar on your work surface and turn the marshmallows onto it.

Then sprinkle more icing sugar onto the marshmallow once you’ve peeled the foil off.

Cut the marshmallows into any shape you’d like, but regular cubes seems to work best for me and my hot chocolate!

Enjoy!

Our halal marshmallow recipe might take a few attempts before you get it just right! Do not attempt substituting halal gelatin with pectin or agar agar, it will leave you with a mess! Halal gelatin can be found rather inconsistently at halal grocery stores throughout the GTA. If you aren’t able to find any, ask you halal grocery store to see if they’re able to source it anywhere for you!

Hafsa is a cupcake-baking, fashion-loving, DIY-obsessed small town girl living in a big city. You can follow her adventures in her new lifestyle blog ‘Does This Make My Head Look Fat?” She has a background in public relations but now currently works in the digital agency world as a Social Media Coordinator for 88 Creative. Her guilty pleasures include traveling, eating macaroons and Instagramming her day-to-day excursions. Follow her adventures on Twitter.